Asthma is a complex disease with increasing worldwide incidence. Among other events, eosinophilic inflammation has been reported in the airways of asthma patients. The pathophysiology of the disease is characterized by variable airflow obstruction, airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion, and subepithelial fibrosis. Clinically, patients may present with cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath. While many patients are adequately treated with currently available therapies, some patients with asthma have persistent disease despite the use of current therapies.
A plethora of drugs are on the market or in development for treating asthma. One of the numerous targets for asthma therapy is IL-13. IL-13 is a pleiotropic TH2 cytokine produced by activated T cells, NKT cells, basophils, eosinophils, and mast cells, and it has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma in preclinical models. Despite the many links between IL-13, IL-4 and asthma in the literature, many IL13 and/or IL4 antagonists therapies have had disappointing results in the clinic. Currently, no IL-13 or IL-4 antagonist therapy has been approved for use in asthma. Furthermore, moderate to severe asthmatic patients continue to lack good, alternative treatment options. Thus, there is a need to identify better therapies for treating asthma and improved methods for understanding how to treat asthma patients.
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